US Open Begins today in Pinehurst

Did you see this golf club review?

USGA's most talked about event is kicking off today in Pinehurst NC. The course has been updated (moving it back more to it's original conditions) and some holes lengthened. Scattered thunderstorms have been hitting the Carolina's the last week so will that soften things up a little bit? We'll see.

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Much to his delight, Martin Kaymer discovered that Pinehurst No. 2 was even more different than he imagined in the U.S. Open.

This wasn't the beast of a course that Kaymer and so many other players were expecting.

This was a day for scoring.

Kaymer made six birdies Thursday afternoon, three on the final five holes, that sent the 29-year-old German to the lowest score in three Opens held at Pinehurst No. 2. He made a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 5-under 65 and a three-shot lead.

"It was more playable than I thought," he said. "I think that made a big difference mentally, that you feel like there are actually some birdies out there, not only bogeys."

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So much was made of the new look at No. 2, which was restored to its old look from more than a half-century ago. There also was plenty of talk that this U.S. Open would be as tough as any U.S. Open.

When he finished his final day of practice Wednesday under a broiling sun, Kaymer was asked what it would take to win.

"I said plus 8 because the way the golf course played on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," he said. "But obviously, they softened the conditions a little bit so it was more playable. So hopefully, I'm not right with the plus 8. I would be disappointed."